My hand is on the grey door that leads to my supervisor’s inner sanctum. I’m about to push it open and change my life forever. I’m giving notice to my boss. Leaving a job I’ve held for five plus years and taking the plunge into completely uncharted waters. I’m going to try my hand at freelance writing.
My husband and I have been talking in circles for months and months. What will we do for health insurance? How much money do I need to bring in to keep us afloat? Are the risks worth the rewards? How much more griping about my current job can he take?
Finally we’ve crunched the numbers and come up with something we can live with for a while. To be truthful it’s a short while, a very short while. We can afford to live without my income for six months. After that if I’m not bringing in some real money then we’ll need to reevaluate our situation.
Any freelancer who is actually making a living from the written word will tell you that six months isn’t enough. No one can drum up enough business or make enough lasting contacts to have a viable career at the end of six months, but I think we’ll be OK. If come January I’m not making enough to keep the family afloat I’m not averse to taking temp admin jobs to bring in some extra cash. Anything as long as it keeps me free enough to keep writing as often as possible.
In the meantime I intend to give it the old college try. I’m going to scour every job site I can find and apply to anything that seems even remotely up my alley. I’m going to keep blogging religiously and promoting my blog shamelessly just in case it attracts an editor, an agent, or even just someone who is looking for a blogger with just my style. I’m going to contact everyone I’ve ever met to let them know that I’m available for even their most insignificant writing needs. I’m going to interrogate every single writer I’ve ever met, online and off, for advice and tips. And I’m going to write, write, and write some more. And maybe, just maybe, all of that will be enough to keep this professional freelance writer in business. After all, a girl can dream, but hard work usually helps get those dreams off the ground.
“Excuse me? Hi. Sorry to disturb you, but do you have a minute?” I ask my boss as I finally push that door open. I take a deep breath and leap. “There’s something important I need to discuss.”
Help a newbie out. What good advice do you have to share? How did you start out on the road to freelancing?
